For the Love of Life
by primitivekittens
Summary: This is the sequel to my previous story, Dancing in the Rain...W/M *Completed*
1. A New Beginning

Disclaimer~ I do not own the Mighty Ducks or anything remotely related to them. Disney does, so please don't sue me.  
  
Author's Note~ Well y'all requested for it, so here it is, the sequel to Dancing in the Rain! I finally got up off of my overworked butt and decided to channel my creative energy into my fan fiction instead of my sketchbook. Thanks for all of your reviews on my first story! I'm glad to hear that y'all liked it so much. Laney Bug, yes there will be kids in here, but not in the way you might think ; ). And I will try to take the swearing out of this one, I guess going to a public high school kinda transforms these words into everyday vocabulary. Hehe sorry if it sucked some of the fun out of DitR. Anyways, review if you want to, say whatever you want to, whether it be constructive criticism or flames. Flames are fun, they help me to set things on fire.but if you read my other story you would already know about my pyro tendencies. Anyways enjoy!  
  
  
  
~For the Love of Life~  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
Mallory was finally enjoying waking up in the morning, especially now that she had someone to wake up next to. She was just lying there, rambling off the days since everything had changed between Wildwing and her.  
  
'Its been three days since my life has changed for the better' she thought 'Three days since we went shopping, since he gave me that necklace, since he kissed me and since he told me that he loved me'  
  
She was in love with Wildwing with every fiber of her being. He had become her world, and it was a whole new experience for her. But with this relationship came so many questions that had no answers, at least not one's that she could answer herself. Every once in a while she asked herself if this was really the path that she wanted to go down, her heart had won her over but her mind was not dying quietly. She looked over at the still form next to her however, and her questions quieted, her mind clouded over with an emotion that she thought she had lost the ability to feel. Her love for him was now unending, and she knew that all her doubts would eventually disappear. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and was startled to feel his arms wrapping around her waist.  
  
"Good morning baby" Wildwing nuzzled his beak into Mal's hair "How long have you been up?" His voice was muffled through her hair.  
  
God how she loved Wing's early morning, messy look. His hair was ruffled and spread out everywhere, his eyes were clouded from sleep, and she could tell that he was trying to shake the cobwebs and haze out of his brain. He pulled her closer to him, her head was resting on top of his neck, his head was still lost in her tangled, disheveled hair.  
  
"Only a few minutes, how about you?" was her reply.  
  
Wing kissed the top of her head.  
  
"A half an hour" he smiled.  
  
She could always tell when he was smiling, it seemed to radiate off of him onto everything around him.  
  
"And what were you doing for a half an hour?"  
  
"Looking at you"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I needed to convince my self that I'm not dreaming all of this"  
  
"Your logical Wing, I wouldn't think it would take you more than two minutes to figure out that this isn't a dream."  
  
"But ever since I met you, all I ever dreamed about was being here with you. Now that I have you, I need to make sure this is all real, because you are all I'll ever want or need."  
  
Wildwing leaned in and kissed her, pinning her down to the bed. When the kiss broke she just looked up and smiled at him  
  
"Next time you do that, get a tic-tac first" she said playfully.  
  
"Oh, you know just how to ruin a romantic moment don't you?" he teased her back.  
  
"I can't believe I'm touching you", they were on a full-blown teasing war now.  
  
"Ouch hun, that one hurt!" Wing put his right hand over his heart, shifting all of his weight to his left forearm.  
  
He jokingly pretended as if she had seriously hurt him, but was careful to keep her pinned to the bed. If they were going to start another pillow fight like the last time they did this, he wanted the upper advantage. Letting his guard down for a few seconds, he rolled his eyes into the back of his head, pretending as if she had killed him with her words. Without a second thought, Mallory reached behind her, grabbed her pillow, and whacked him over the head with it. He tried to grab it from her, but she threw it across the room before he could get it out of her hands. Seeing that she had no other way to defend herself, she started tickling his sides, and he fell over onto his side of the bed. She was relentless, and didn't give up until he was able to grab both of her hands in one of his, and began to tickle her without mercy. She gave up eventually, and they fell on top of one another, already exhausted from their "war". He gathered her up in his arms and rested his head on top of hers.  
  
"I should probably go make breakfast shouldn't I?" Wing asked.  
  
"Unless you either want food poisoning or a very crispy meal I would say 'yes'" she replied.  
  
"But that means we actually have to get up doesn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, unfortunately." He said, "This almost makes me wish that everyone else was gone for another month or three."  
  
"I know, but oh well, we just have to deal with life as it comes to us."  
  
Mallory sighed and she just closed her eyes. Wildwing and Mallory got up, Wildwing headed out to the kitchen to make breakfast, while Mallory tried to clean up the mess that they had made in the bedroom.  
  
TBC..  
  
A/N~ School sucks, it really does. It may take me a while to crank out anymore of this story. I will try to get some done on the limited free time that I have on the weekends, but its not a guarantee. Please be patient. Thanks Bunches! 


	2. Homecoming Worries

Authors Note~  
  
I'm sorry that it's been so long since my last update! I've enjoyed reading all of your reviews and hopefully I've emailed everyone back who has emailed me a review! I can't wait to get to hear what y'all have to say about my story! Special thanx to Laney Bug, my beta reader! Enjoy this next chapter. ^^  
  
Disclaimer~ I don't own the Mighty Ducks. This story is purely for entertainment only! Please don't sue me!  
  
And now, on with my story.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Mallory finished cleaning up the bedroom and walked into the kitchen, she could already smell Wildwing's fabulous cooking. She stopped and leaned on the doorway, clearing her throat to make her presence heard over the sizzling of the eggs and bacon. Wildwing put his spatula down and walked towards Mallory. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she leaned into his embrace.  
  
"Good morning babe. Have any trouble cleaning up the mess we made in the bedroom?" he asked  
  
"Not really, but next time you get to clean." she replied  
  
"Sure whatever." he said  
  
"I smell something burning." said Mallory, lifting her head up from his chest and taking in a whiff of the air around her.  
  
"Oh crudbuckets! I'll be right back don't go anywhere!" said Wildwing, rushing over to the stove.  
  
As he surveyed the damage, he realized that their breakfast had been burned beyond the boundaries of edible food.  
  
"Looks like we're having stale pop-tarts again Mal!"  
  
Wildwing sighed in exasperation. Mallory just walked over to him and hugged him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.  
  
"Sorry that I distracted you, hun." said Mal  
  
"Oh you're defiantly worth a morning of burnt breakfast, babe." Wildwing replied.  
  
He leaned down and rested his forehead on the top of her head, relaxing himself enough to fall asleep. Mallory seemed to be just as tired as he was, her breathing was slowing and he could feel that she was tired just from his light hold on her waist. They seemed to have a kind of connection, one where their feelings and thoughts could be easily transmitted to one another without having to speak. They could just be in the same room and they both could sense the others emotions. Right now, Mallory could sense a hint of frustration and confusion in Wildwing, and Wildwing could feel Mallory's exhaustion.  
  
"What's wrong Wing?"  
  
Mallory lifted her head until their eyes met. Her hands had a firm grip on his arms, and she knew that she was going to get the information that she wanted out of him. Her expression was serious, worried but above all determined. She knew that Wildwing had been having emotional breakdowns in the past from having no one to talk to. She was only serious about him sharing his burdens because she did not want him to have another emotional breakdown, especially now that she could prevent them.  
  
"I'm just thinking Mal, that's all."  
  
"That's bull Wing and you know it, please tell me what's wrong."  
  
"Mal, what are we going to do when everyone gets back?"  
  
"That's not something we should be concerned about right now. Just enjoy the time we have, and when the time comes for us to make that decision, we'll worry about it then."  
  
"Like always Mal, you're right. Come on I'll set the table and you can try to see what we can have for breakfast."  
  
The day went on without another thought of what the future held for Mal and Wing's relationship. Soon, the two weeks that they had together without the other Ducks had almost come to an end. They now only had one night left, and Wildwing and Mallory were both distracted with the impending decision that they would have to make. They were now lying in bed together, each sensing the others feelings of doom.  
  
"Wing, you're nervous and antsy, what's wrong?"  
  
"So are you."  
  
"I think it's time that we made the decision about what to do."  
  
"What decision could there possibly be?"  
  
"There's about a thousand of them to be made, pick one."  
  
They both sat up in bed, Mallory hugging her knees to her chest, Wildwing drumming his fingers on his knee.  
  
"Do you want everyone to know about us, Mal?"  
  
"Not really, Wing."  
  
"So we're going to have to be subtle about everything?"  
  
"We need to go around like we did before, and maybe we could try to get together at night. I don't really know how we're supposed to go about this."  
  
"Should we even be going.?"  
  
Mallory cut Wildwing off in the middle of his question. It was the one thing that she didn't want to hear him ask, she didn't want to answer that question, or even approach it.  
  
"Wildwing, I don't WANT us to stop seeing each other. However, if it's in your best interests, then I will give this up."  
  
"It's not in anyone's best interests for both of us to be unhappy. I think that ending what we have is not an option, Mal."  
  
"Well how are we going to see each other if we can't do anything?"  
  
"We'll find a way."  
  
"Are we going to tell them?"  
  
"We will tell them eventually, but we don't have to do it now. I'm not sure that they can handle us."  
  
They slid back down, and they rested comfortably in each other's arms. Mallory's head rested in the crook of his neck and she seemed to relax a little.  
  
"Wing, who exactly is 'they'?"  
  
"Nosedive for starters. I don't know what he would do. I hate to say it but I don't think you're his top choice of Ducks that I could be going out with."  
  
Mallory just laughed. She knew that Nosedive was less than fond of her, but the thought of it didn't bother her too much. He played too many tricks on her for her to like him all that much anyways.  
  
"So Wing, I take it we've made all the important decisions for the time being?"  
  
"Sure, but you know that you have a lot of questions for this late at night?"  
  
They both smiled, and all their fears and anxieties seemed to melt away as they drifted asleep together.  
  
TBC. 


	3. Final Solution

Author's Note ~  
  
Hey everyone! Wow, it's been a while! I hate to say it, but I'm disappointed with this chapter. Scratch that, I'm EXTREMELY disappointed with this chapter, and I know it's short but this is the best I can do for now. At least now y'all won't throw rocks at me for abandoning my fic! If I feel like it, I may re-do this chapter, I don't know yet, though. To be honest, this story isn't my top priority and I haven't really felt like writing any of this anyways for a while, so enjoy this new chapter, it may be a while until the next one. See all y'all later.  
Disclaimer ~  
  
I don't own the Mighty Ducks, Disney does! This story is purely for entertainment purposes only, so please don't sue me, it's really not worth wasting your energy or money. You wouldn't be able to earn from me what you would pay in lawyer fees anyways.  
  
Alrighty y'all, on with the story ^^  
  
Chapter 3  
  
The first thing that Mallory realized as she woke up was that she was alone. The next thing she noticed was that she was in her room, not Wildwing's, like she normally would be when she woke up. She threw her arm over the cold, empty side of the bed that she knew usually possessed Wildwing's warm, comforting body. Her hand was startled as she touched a piece of paper.  
  
"Oh thank God, there's a note", she thought.  
  
It was the first thought that could be entertained by Mallory's groggy and sleepy brain. As she picked it up and looked at it, she was relieved to find out that Wildwing hadn't just dumped her in her room and abandoned her, but instead had left something to explain why he wasn't here.  
  
'God I love him', she thought, reading over the note.  
  
Mallory,  
  
I hope I didn't scare you too much by having you wake up in your room today, I just wanted to make sure that we weren't together in bed when they got back. I have no idea when they should be getting back today, so I just wanted to be safe rather than sorry. I wish I was here with you and I love you lots!  
  
XO Wildwing OX  
  
Mallory let out a little laugh, and hopped out of bed. When she first met Wildwing she had never thought that he could be this caring towards anyone other than Canard and Nosedive. He had proven her original assumption wrong so many times that she couldn't count them all anymore. She knew that he loved her deeply, and to her, that was all that she could possibly want from him. She headed off to the kitchen, where she found Wildwing standing over the stove making breakfast for them. She always felt drunk with love when she caught a glimpse him; she was overwhelmed with his presence. She loved just looking at him; it always gave her a sense of security that could only be topped by Wilding's gentle, loving touch itself. A familiar voice called to her and snapped her out of her thoughts.  
  
"Mallory, are you okay? Your mind seems to be lost in space somewhere" said Wildwing, placing a hand on Mallory's arm.  
  
"Oh, I'm fine Wing, I'm just thinking" she said.  
  
"May I ask what you were thinking about? Or is this one of those things that I just don't want to know about" he asked, concerned.  
  
"You" came her short reply, followed by a kiss to Wildwing's cheek.  
  
Wildwing just stood there looking completely confused, but then again, a lot of things befuddled Wildwing, and Mallory's actions and words were often a huge source of his puzzlement. He loved her anyways, though, and the rewards of their relationship was all that really seemed to matter to him, no matter how much of a confusing woman Mallory could be.  
  
"So, Mal, the gang is coming back today, what do you want to do about us, I mean we need to decide on whether or not we are going to tell them" Wing stated plainly.  
  
Now it was Mallory's turn to be confused, she still didn't know what to do about telling the others about her and Wildwing's blossoming relationship. She was an extremely private person, whose personal life was just that, personal. On one hand, she wanted to keep their relationship a secret, on the other hand, she knew that it would be hard to hide their love from everyone, to be able to go through the day not being able to do so much as touch each other, and only letting themselves be somewhat free at night. Even then they had to be on guard, they couldn't be sneaking around in places other than their bedrooms, they had to make sure they weren't too loud when going about their time together. She was afraid that the strain on their relationship would break them, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.  
  
"I need more time" said Mallory honestly, "although I know that time is the one thing we don't have".  
  
Mallory sat down at the table Wildwing went to grab their breakfast off the stove. They knew that nothing was going for them except their faith in each other. He knew that he could never bring himself to leave her, even if nothing was working out for them, not in an eternity would he ever do something that would hurt her so deeply. He knew that she felt the same, so why were they both feeling this impending sense of doom? Wildwing was contemplative as he set down their breakfast and they ate in a silence strained by their own insecurities.  
  
That afternoon, Wildwing came up with an idea while he an Mallory sat on the couch together, just holding each other and staring up into space, each coming to their own conclusions about what to do.  
  
"I have an idea!" Wildwing exclaimed, wondering why he hadn't thought of the possibility sooner. "We don't have to tell them at first, we can wait and let them figure it out when we slip-up, whenever that may be".  
  
Mallory's eyes widened. "You're a genius, did you know that?" she asked, kissing him deeply on the beak, only to be interrupted by a sharp buzzing noise.  
  
"The alarm system is letting someone in" Wildwing plainly stated.  
  
Mallory groaned in frustration as they got up off the couch and smoothed out their clothes. "They're home"  
  
Tbc [when I feel like it ;) ].. 


	4. Surprises

Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks, Disney does. If I owned them, the show would be a part of the primetime lineup and not stuck showing at 2 in the morning on Toon Disney, duh.  
  
Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for actually reading the crap that I write, the reviews have shown that there are some interested people out there, yahoo! Anyways, a special thanks to Silver Elf Child, for just reaching out and saying "hi". Ooo, one more thing, thanks to everyone who reviewed "Promises", I know that fic a bit on the darker side, and some of that darkness will be seeping into this fic in future chapters, just to warn y'all. See all y'all later!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
As much as Mallory and Wildwing wanted to continue cuddling on the couch, they managed to get up, unrumple their clothes, and head outside to greet everyone. As soon as they walked out, the sunlight blinded their vision, and they realized that they really hadn't been outside all that much while the rest of the team was gone. They both smiled inwardly, realizing that they had been having too much fun inside to be going anywhere outside. Wildwing and Mallory raised a hand to the quickly approaching crew, waving to welcome them back to the pond, but both inwardly dreading the coming weeks ahead of them. Neither of them wanted anyone to know about their relationship, and not being able to act on their wishes while the rest of the team was watching them was sheer torture. Suddenly a loud scream of joy was heard accompanied by a rush of blonde hair and light feathers.  
  
"Big Bro!" screamed Nosedive, grabbing Wildwing into the biggest hug he could muster.  
  
"I'm glad to see you too Nosedive!" said Wildwing, trying his hardest to loosen his brother's death grip on his crushed arms, chest and rib cage.  
  
Tanya approached Mallory at a slower pace, and gave her best friend a much less severe hug.  
  
"Hey Mal, it's good to see another female duck around again!"  
  
Mal just smiled and returned her friend's hug. She let go of Tanya, only to be swooped up into Duke's arms. He spun her around and then set her gently back on the ground.  
  
"It's good ta see ya sweetheart!" said Duke.  
  
"How many times have I told you not to call me that L'Orange?" she said playfully while mocking a punch on his arm. Duke feigned pain at the gesture.  
  
Grin silently observed the group and saw the same emotion running through Wildwing and Tanya at the display between Duke and Mallory, jealousy. He could see it coursing through each and every blood vessel and living fiber of Wildwing while Tanya seemed to be more at ease and less tense about the display. He however, remained silent. Everyone decided that they needed to get settled inside, and all the ducks walked into the Pond all together for the first time in two weeks.  
  
As everyone sat down for a nice lunch half an hour later, Mallory was making casual observations about everyone. Nosedive seemed antsy, she knew that it was probably from being locked up in the Migrator for too long. But he also seemed glad to be home and under the protection of his older brother.  
  
Tanya and Duke seemed so happy together, Tanya seemed to be glowing, and Duke almost looked mellow and content, humbled even. This relationship was good for the both of them. It kept Duke from reverting back to his old, unlawful habits, and it kept Tanya from locking herself in her lab and working until exhaustion, trying to find new inventions, or new technology that could be used to defend this planet from another Saurian invasion.  
  
Grin was a lot harder to read than the rest of the others were. He was an enigma; you could never really know who Grin was, what his personality was like, or what knowledge his vast mind possessed. He always kept some sort of shield around his face, masking his true feelings, a mask of peace and tranquility, possibly mixed with indifference. There was one thing that she could tell from looking at him though, he was always engaging in what she was doing now, observing people and silently collecting information about them through his interpretations. There were times when Mallory wondered if Grin was even made of flesh and blood, whether he had the same emotions, fears, even desires as other ducks. Mallory decided that she would probably never know. She was snapped out of her trance by a large, grey hand on her arm, and Grin's understanding eyes peering down at her, telling her that he understood, that he knew about Wildwing and her. Fear flashed through her eyes for just a second, but Grin reciprocated with a soft silence of his own seeming to say,  
  
*I won't tell anyone if you don't*  
  
She mouthed a silent "Thank You" to Grin that no one else saw, and Grin returned it with a small smile that seemed to say, "No Problem".  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 Weeks Later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mallory was just getting out of bed after a long night of being with Wildwing, talking, cuddling, making love, and damn was she sore. It was early, around six in the morning, but that didn't seem to bother her. After being in the military for as long as she had been, she was used to early morning wake-up calls. She was just making her way down to the bathroom right around the corner when Tanya whizzed by her, rushing into the bathroom, straining to hold her beak closed, and looking fairly nauseous. Mallory rushed into the bathroom after her, only to find Tanya hunched over the toilet bowl, puking up whatever contents were left in her stomach and then some. Mallory walked calmly towards her and crouched down next to her, holding her hair away from her face and gently rubbing her back. Tanya finally finished heaving and slumped down against the wall of the stall, and Mallory gently let her hair go and grabbed a towel to help wipe off her face.  
  
"Tanya, are you okay?" asked Mallory, "How long has this been going on?"  
  
"I'm not okay Mallory, I feel like I'm heaving up everything I've ever eaten in my entire life, but I'm fine otherwise. I don't know what this is, and it won't go away, I've had this for several days now!"  
  
"Tanya may I ask you a rather.erm.personal question?"  
  
"Yeah, if it will help you to figure this out."  
  
"Were you and Duke ever, um., intimate, like in a, ummm., sexual sort of sense?"  
  
"Well, yeah but why do you want to know that? It's not like I'm..oh my God, do you think that I might be."  
  
"Pregnant? Well, I mean it is just a theory, but if you were really sick, you would probably be having a whole bunch of symptoms that you don't seem to have."  
  
"Why didn't I think of this before? I mean I'm eating more than usual, and now that I think about it, I haven't had my period this month either." Tanya squeaked, "Mal, do you think that maybe we can head up to the store after this? I mean I want to know, ya know?"  
  
"Sure Tawny, I need to go pick up a few things too, so how about I make us some breakfast and then we head up there, okay?"  
  
"Thanks Mal, let's go get that breakfast I'm starved!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that Morning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mallory and Tanya headed out in Mallory's SUV to their local grocery store. Tanya went with Mallory to go get the things she needed, and Mallory bravely went to the pharmacy counter to ask for the pregnancy tests that Tanya needed. They headed up to the checkout line and tried to ignore the stares that they still got on a regular basis. Mallory just fished around in her purse for her check book, and the necklace with Dragaunas's horn on it, holding it seemed to remind her of Wildwing, and thoughts of Wildwing always made her calm, even in crowded public places such as this grocery store. Before she knew it, they were next in line, and she had to let go of her necklace so she could give the items to the cashier to ring up. She immediately became disenchanted with the attitude of the greasy, punky, teenage cashier that was ringing them up.  
  
"Look, I don't have all day, are you going to get your stuff up here or what?"  
  
Mallory just rolled her eyes and placed the few items from her basket onto the conveyer belt. The cashier made a snorting noise.  
  
"A box of tampons and pregnancy tests?" The cashier looked mildly confused, "Gee if ya need one, I highly doubt that you'll be needin' the other, lady."  
  
"Just ring it up before I'm forced to come over there and pound your insolent, bratty little ass, alright? And no more of your nasty comments either!"  
  
The cashier looked dumbfounded, but never the less, stopped talking and finished ringing up the purchases. Mallory paid for the items, and only shot the cashier a nasty look as she grabbed her bag and hauled Tanya out of the store.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That Night ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mallory and Tanya both agreed to meet in the bathroom that night after all of the guys had gone to sleep. Tanya made sure to tell Duke that she was going to be up working late, and Mallory told Wildwing that she was going to have a night to herself, and that she would be sure to see him the next night. So now, after a whole lot of worrying on both the parts of Mallory and Tanya, they were both in the bathroom while Tanya prepared to take the test.  
  
"Mal, please hurry up with that test, I can't wait all that much longer!"  
  
"Alright Tanya, here it is! I think that all you have to do is pee on that part of the stick."  
  
"Ah, pregnancy, getting to go through labor, morning sickness, mood swings, and peeing on sticks, what's more magical than that?"  
  
Mallory just laughed at her friend's dry sense of humor and ushered her into the bathroom.  
  
Fifteen minutes came and went, and both Tanya and Mallory were sitting on the edge of their seats in the rec. room.  
  
"Tanya", Mallory nudged her worrying friend, "It's time."  
  
"I can't do this Mallory, you look at it."  
  
"No Tanya, this is something you have to do, but I can come with you and hold your hand along the way if you want."  
  
"I'd like that Mallory" said Tanya more than moved by her friend's sympathy and kindness.  
  
Mallory and Tanya wandered into the bathroom, hand in hand, and Tanya almost fainted as she saw the results in front of her.  
  
"There's two lines Mal, I'm.I'm.Pregnant!"  
  
"Congratulations, sweetie! Your going to be a mom!" said Mal, swooping Tanya into a great, big hug, her words and actions so unlike her normal behavior.  
  
Tanya hugged her back with more force, and tears streamed down her face. Mallory just continued to comfort Tanya out of her shock and joined her in crying in joy. The two friends just continued to celebrate through the night, both overjoyed with Tanya's wonderful news.  
  
Tbc.. 


	5. Self Doubt

Disclaimer - I don't own 'em, so don't sue me.God, how many times do we all have to keep writing these things?  
  
Author's Note - Hey all y'all! Wow, it has been far too long since I last updated, and I am so incredibly sorry about that, but school is finally out for me! Woohoo! Hopefully I will be able to finish with this story over the break this summer, not to mention a few new fics.maybe.Anywho, I just want to thank y'all for your awesome reviews. I haven't gotten a single flame on this story, which is more than I can say for my CSI fic; the people over there are so defensive of their 'ships that they are willing to attack people personally for them. Enough of my ranting though, enjoy the story!  
  
For the Love of Life - Chapter 5  
  
Tanya re-took the pregnancy test, just to make sure that the first one was accurate. After another positive result, Mallory and Tanya decided to call it a night, and made sure that the next morning they would discuss how Tanya was going to tell the rest of the team, especially Duke. Tanya crept back into their room, careful not to disturb Duke, who was sleeping like a log.  
  
'For a thief he sure is a heavy sleeper' thought Tanya, climbing back into bed and settling her head against Duke's chest.  
  
She fell asleep to the soft, comforting rhythm of Duke's deep, steady breathing.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In the middle of the night, Mallory was awakened by Tanya's somewhat harsh shaking of her petite, slender frame.  
  
"Tanya, what in the name of Drake DuCaine do you think your doing?" said Mallory sleepily, glaring at Tanya through her half-open eyes.  
  
"Mallory, get up, I need to talk to you!" said Tanya, rather urgently.  
  
Mallory ran her fingers through her shoulder-length red hair, and rubbed her eyes to try and wipe the sleep from them. She sat up on her bed, her turquoise eyes glared at Tanya with a sense of irritation, then softened upon seeing Tanya's genuinely worried expression.  
  
"Mallory I can't do this!" Tanya was nearly screaming, and Mallory was once again thankful for the sound-proof, metal doors of her bedroom.  
  
"What are you talking about Tawny? I thought Wildwing beat this lesson into your head when we had to fight those giant dinosaurs, I thought you were over all of this irrational fear," said Mallory, sighing and trying to comprehend the situation at hand.  
  
"Okay little miss "I can do anything", why don't you try and tell your entire group of friends and your slightly unstable boyfriend that your pregnant! Let me see how easily YOU could deal with all of this!" Tanya was panting heavily from the lack of oxygen to her lungs, and from all of the loud yelling that she was doing.  
  
"For starters, Tanya, I don't have a boyfriend, and I'm not pregnant, so I can't begin to place myself in your situation. Secondly, I'm assuming that you really don't mean to snap off at me and that you are just experiencing normal mood swings that associate themselves with the hormone changes of pregnancy. Thirdly, Tanya, do you realize that no matter what you have to go through, that as your best friend, no, your sister, I will help you with anything that comes your way? With my help, you CAN get through this."  
  
Tanya looked stunned. Not only did Mallory use more than one rather polysyllabic, complicated word per sentence, her forthright generosity and rather understanding personality took Tanya aback. The use of the familial terms and the adoptive sisterhood that Mallory portrayed thoroughly stunned her.  
  
Tanya grasped Mallory's hands in hers and sat down next to her on the rumpled bed. "Gee Mal, I'm sorry about snapping off I j-j-just don't know w-w-what's wrong with me and I." her rather broken speech was interrupted by Mallory placing her hand on Tanya's shoulder.  
  
"Shh, Tawny it's okay, it's just your horomones. Now, why don't we go through all of this step-by-step, okay?" Tanya nodded her head as an affirmative and Mallory continued to help her. "Now, first, you should just go to sleep, and let your body relax itself, you need to be well rested to handle all of this." Tanya just nodded her head in understanding as Mallory continued on. "Now, the first thing you want to do when you wake up is tell Duke as soon as you can. He's the father of the child, and he deserves to know before everyone else does. Then, you and he can work it out from there, but I suggest you just round up everyone all at once for a group meeting and tell them flat out. Now just do that and you'll be fine, okay?" Tanya nodded her head and thanked her, giving her a long hug before she left Mallory's bedroom to go find peaceful slumber in the arms of Duke.  
  
Mallory sighed heavily, she was glad that she could help Tanya out through one minor detail of one of her toughest personal crisis. She felt bad that she knew about this before Duke, but she couldn't blame herself, it was easier for Tanya to confide in a best friend who would never leave her than a boyfriend who may reject her for the new life growing within her. Mallory was more than thankful that she could pull off the "I-don't-have-a- boyfriend" routine with a straight face while trying to console her friend. It was getting harder to hide her attraction to Wildwing in public, it was sheer torture for the both of them when they couldn't touch, or even throw a longing glance at the other. She just wondered how much longer she and Wildwing were going to last before their defenses came crumbling down around them, exposing their relationship and placing them in a vulnerable, scary position. She only hoped that the event that exposed them would not be like Tanya's, so drastic, and in her case, so unwanted. She was half asleep when she heard her bedroom door slide open, and then close silently behind her visitor. Wildwing bent over Mallory, placing a warm and gentle kiss on her beak and then sliding into the bed next to her.  
  
"Hey Mal," said Wildwing, wrapping his arms around Mallory and placing a feather-light kiss upon her forehead.  
  
"Mmm.Hey Wing," she said settling against the full length of his body.  
  
"I just saw Tanya walk out of here, is she okay?"  
  
"Yeah she's just fine"  
  
Mallory and Wildwing drifted off to sleep in the comfort of each others arms, a rare treat for them, and a guarantee that all of their problems would drift out of their souls and dissipate in the warm atmosphere of their loving embrace.  
  
TBC.  
  
Another Author's Note: Hey y'all! I know that the ending seems fairly pointless and a tad off topic, but I had gone for almost two chapters without any Mal/Wing romance, and I don't know about all y'all, but I was going into withdraw, lol. *Withdraw symptoms cease in Darkness Queen's body* Ahh, the shaking and the horrible headaches finally stopped. Trust me, I've tried un-addicting myself from Pepsi and I can't, it makes me have so much respect for people who quit harmful addictions, like drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Anywho, expect to see more from me, since school's out now *cheers*, and I may even have all y'all help me vote on a new story for me to write, since I have so many ideas. I'll write them all, but y'all can help me decide which one to do first! See ya! 


	6. The Announcement

Author's Note:  
  
Hey y'all, your local provider of Mal/Wing fic here, just checking up to make sure how all of y'all are! A new chapter is here now, I told y'all that I would be cranking this out as the summer goes along! I know that the last few chapters have been OOC Mal/Tanya bonding and Duke/Tanya romance, but now I think that I'm back on track with the Mal/Wing stuffs again. Cool huh? Anyways, comments or concerns are welcome, though not required. I just want y'all to have fun reading this, so enjoy!  
  
For the Love of Life - Chapter 6  
  
Mallory awoke later in the morning than usual; Wildwing was gone from her bed like always. For once, she just wanted those days back where they could wake up in each other's arms, sleep in late, possibly even make out on the couch in the rec. room, all without the fear of getting caught, or being ridiculed by their teammates. She missed Wildwing, but she knew that the stability of the team depended on him. He needed to have his top priority at making sure they were ready just in case Dragaunus wasn't dead, not worrying about a girlfriend and making sure she was protected above everything else. Any one of the team members could easily challenge Wildwing for a chance at his leadership position, using the simple fact that he could be placing special priorities on her, and not worrying about the safety of the team as a whole. Wildwing would give up his title any day with much relief, but deep down Mallory knew that he was the only one of them suitable for the position. He was fair and honest, and he made sure that teamwork was valued above all else. Mallory just sighed and hopped out of bed to begin her day.  
  
Nearing the beginning of the afternoon, Mallory was laying in her bed, reading one of the human romance novels that she had picked up at a bookstore in the Anaheim Mall; they were far better, and slightly more intense than the ones that were sold back on Puckworld. In the middle of reading a fairly steamy chapter, Mallory heard a soft knock on her door; she put the book down and called to the duck on the other side.  
  
"Come on in, it's unlocked," she yelled.  
  
Wildwing strolled into her room and made sure that the door closed behind him before kissing her deeply on the beak.  
  
"Mmmm, hello to you too Wing," said Mallory rather seductively. Wildwing lay down on the bed next to her and held her against him while tracing invisible circle on her back.  
  
"Mal, Tanya has some kind of group meeting that we need to go to, she told me to come get you and to be there ASAP," said Wildwing while Mallory lazily draped her arm around him and nuzzled her head against his chest.  
  
"Mmmm... ok, we should probably get going then, we wouldn't want anyone being suspicious, now would we?" Mallory cracked a weary grin and helped to drag a rather reluctant Wildwing out of her bed. "Come on lazy one, I promise that you can stay later if you come to visit me tonight."  
  
Wildwing jumped out of Mallory's bed and scooped her up off of her feet. "Is that a promise?" he asked.  
  
"You betcha, babe."  
  
With that Wildwing and Mallory headed down to the rec. room to await Tanya's message.  
  
Mallory and Wildwing walked into the rec. room together just as Tanya and Duke had assembled Nosedive, Grin and Phil together so that they could begin.  
  
"Yo bro!" called Nosedive "Glad you could make it, we began to think that Mallory was hiding out from ya!"  
  
Wildwing and Mallory chose to ignore that comment, and just focused on the two rather nervous looking ducks that seemed to be the epicenter of everyone's attention at the moment. Duke had his arm wrapped around Tanya's waist fairly protectively; Mallory guessed that he had probably been thrilled when Tanya had told him the news earlier that day. Tanya seemed to glow, and Mallory knew that all of the comments made about pregnant ducks being more gorgeous than regular females were true. Mallory just inwardly smiled. Tanya cleared her throat and the room fell into a silent hush.  
  
"Okay everyone, um, Duke and I called you here because we have some very important news that we think that we should share with you." Tanya's palms were sweaty, but Duke squeezed her hand for reassurance anyways. "Um, we just wanted to let you all know that, um, I'm, umm, pregnant."  
  
The room was silent for a few seconds as everyone except Mallory stood there in complete and utter shock, while Tanya smiled shakily, trying to maintain her composure. All of a sudden, Nosedive ran up to her and completely overwhelmed Tanya in a huge hug, and the room became filled with a chorus of cheers and clapping.  
  
"Wow girly-girl" said Nosedive with complete excitement, "we're going to have a little duckling running around, this is so cool!"  
  
One by one, all of the ducks, and Phil came up and congratulated Tanya, giving her hugs and well wishes, sharing with her all of their hopes for the new life that was growing inside of the Pond.  
  
TBC  
  
Another Note: Hey y'all it's me again, you just can't get away from me, can you? lol. Okay, I know that I really hate it when people ask their fans to vote for things about their stories so that they can pull in reviews, so I won't ask you to do that. However, I just want some feedback from y'all on whether or not I should put in a completely pointless, fluffy Wing/Mal chapter in here. I know that I for one think that my story has kind of strayed from the original ideas about a romantic story between Mal and Wing, but then I kind of thought that several other ideas could play into this story well, and that I owed the Duke/Tanya pairing a little credit because very few write stories for them. Well, now I have this story, and in the words of Grissom from CSI, "I don't know what to do about 'this'." So if you want you can drop me an e-mail or a review, I don't care which, and tell me if you want the fluff or don't. I don't want to bore y'all to death, lol. If I do put it in here, the original plotline of the story won't change. Don't worry; I'm not like some of those people who ask you to vote for the pairings in the story, other major factors of the fic or anything absolutely absurd like that. Love y'all!  
  
~*~ Darkness Queen ~*~ 


	7. All You Need is Love

Parings: W/M, D/T  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, so don't sue.  
  
Author's Note: Hey y'all! After a long thinking session and a couple of Pepsi's, I decided to just combine the two chapters that I was going to make originally. To be honest, I'm starting to get tired of writing on this story, and I just want to get it done without making horrendous grammatical errors or rushing the fic. I'm trying to condense, so let me know if either if those two things are happening. I have lot of other stories that I would like to start on, so I'm going to try to finish this as fast as I can. See y'all for now!  
  
For the Love of Life - Chapter 7  
  
Several months had passed since Tanya had informed the team of her pregnancy, and the two parents-to-be of the Pond had never looked prouder. At four months along, Tanya was barely showing, but the signs of her pregnancy were evident in just the fact that she would touch her stomach at every opportunity she could find. One night, Mallory looked on at Duke and Tanya entering the room that they now permanently shared, and sighed. The two were madly in love, and it was a beautiful sight. She entered her room with a heavy heart, as her thoughts of love eventually drifted to Wildwing, pushing away her need for sleep. He was showing up at night less and less, and during the day he was nowhere to be found, off wandering the Pond aimlessly and without purpose. It made her disappointed and angry that he seemed to be pulling away from her life, she truly wondered if she had done anything wrong. She had known for quite some time that something was amiss with him, and she intended to find out what it was, come hell or high water.  
  
Mallory soon found that the sleep she had intended to get that night was elusive and evasive, as she tossed and turned on her bed, the sheets becoming entangled in her legs and around her waist. She groaned and just lay still on her bed, clutching the sides of her mattress in anger and biting the bottom lip of her beak in order to stifle an unavoidable scream. Suddenly, Mallory heard the code to her door being punched in, and dropped her arms flat on her mattress and turned her head away from her door and the drake that she knew was entering.  
  
"Mal? Mallory? Are you here?" Wildwing whispered softly, as not to disturb her if she was sleeping.  
  
Mallory's response was a low mix between a moan and a grunt, and she still did not turn to face Wildwing, still angry at his constant disappearance around the Pond lately.  
  
"Mallory?" Wildwing walked around to the side of the bed that she had been facing, and kneeled down to eye level with her. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I should be asking you the same question Wildwing," said Mallory, finally deciding to sit up on her bed and attempt eye contact with the drake in front of her.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Wildwing, you disappear all the time! I can never find you, ever!" Mallory's rage grew as she continued to speak, and Wildwing sat down on the bed next to her, trying to come up with quick lies to ward off her accusations of truth. "Remember back when the gang first came back? We always used to sneak off together when no one would notice, and at night, you would always be in my room at the first opportunity you could find. Now, I'm lucky if I see you even once every other day..." Mallory's head hung as she closed her eyes tight, trying to fend off tears of anguish and rage.  
  
"Mallory, I don't want to burden you with my problems, you know? You have enough to deal with. I can handle it on my own." Wildwing pulled Mallory close to him, letting her sit in his lap and lay against his chest, with her head resting on his broad, muscular shoulder.  
  
"Obviously, you can't, since you've basically been ignoring the world around you. Just tell me the truth, Wildwing. I love you, you can tell me absolutely anything and I'll do what I can to help you. It's what I'm here for." Mallory's anger dissipated instantly, leaving only love and concern in its wake.  
  
"Mmmm okay, you win. It's just that, now that we've defeated Dragaunus, fulfilled our mission and all of that, I'm just, well, wanting to go home. I have a lot that got left behind, I want to know which of my relatives survived the camps, where they all are, I want to know if Puckworld was even saved. I just have a lot of questions that there aren't any answers for."  
  
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it Wing?" Wildwing laughed at the comment and just relaxed into the soft pillows that rested against Mallory's headboard. He bent his head down to meet her cheek and he softly kissed her, relishing the taste of her skin that he so rarely had a chance to enjoy. Mallory sighed softly, and tilted her head up just enough so that the tips of their beaks touched. The kiss was soft at first, and then became more passionate, full of want and need of the contact that both Mallory and Wildwing were so starved for. They only came up for air when they absolutely had to, Mallory turning her body around so that their foreheads rested against one another. As soon as Wildwing caught his breath, he continued his onslaught of kisses, making a trail around the edge of her beak and down to her jaw. He questioned whether he should continue with only a glance, and Mallory held the affirmative answer in her eyes. Their passion overtook them as their lovemaking continued long and lovingly into the night.  
  
Several hours later, Wildwing and Mallory were pressed together, their legs entwined and their arms wrapped around each other, the position similar to the one when they had first found themselves in the same bed. Wildwing entwined their right hands together, and with his other hand he traced invisible circles along Mallory's bare back.  
  
"Mal, does this mean you aren't mad at me anymore?" Mallory just chuckled and snuggled closer into his chest, as they both drifted off to sleep in their own world, held together by their love for each other.  
  
The next day everyone was gathered around the rec. room, as Tanya and Duke were coming back from yet another visit to Tanya's obstetrician. Duke has called the entire team from his com after the appointment was finished, and told everyone that they once again had news that the entire team should hear. Mallory, being the female that she was, knew that Tanya should be having her sonogram around this point, as Tanya was about halfway through her pregnancy. Duke had not sounded morose in the slightest, so she knew that the proud parents-to-be had probably found out something wonderful while at the doctors office. Wildwing was the last to arrive in the rec. room, as he had been trying to ward off more publicity stunts from Phil, but had finally given in so that the pudgy manager would stop hounding him. Wing plopped down on the couch at a friendly distance from Mallory, trying to maintain the professional façade that was becoming harder to keep together.  
  
"What took you so long, Wing? Tawny and thief-boy should be back any minute," whispered Mallory to Wildwing.  
  
Wing rubbed his eyes in frustration and grunted out his one-word answer. "Phil."  
  
"Ahhh, that explains everything!" Mallory laughed softly and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.  
  
Suddenly, Duke burst through the door of the rec. room, carrying an extremely flustered Tanya in his arms.  
  
"Duke! You can, uh, you know, put me down now!" Tanya was laughing hard, and gasping for air as Duke laid her down on an empty couch, and kissed her deeply. The public display of affection captured the attention of the other four ducks.  
  
"Yo, Dukester! I'm guessin' that you and Tawny have some news o' cool to share with us!" Nosedive's statement reflected what was on the minds of the curious ducks gathered around.  
  
Tanya and Duke arose, beaming with joy concerning whatever their secret was.  
  
"Well," Tanya began, "Duke, uh, do you want to tell them, or should, uh, I, umptah, ya know, do it."  
  
"Tawny, angel, you do it!" Duke wrapped his arms around Tanya's slightly protruding stomach and laid his head against hers.  
  
"Well everyone," Tanya spoke again, "I'm, uh, I'm having twins!"  
  
The room was deathly silent, and then a chorus of cheers arose, congratulating Tanya and Duke on their monumental achievement and praising the good news that seemed to be overwhelming the hearts and spirits of all six of the Mighty Ducks.  
  
TBC... 


	8. Disaster

For the Love of Life - Chapter 8  
  
Rating - PG-13, cussing and mild sexual content  
  
Pairings - W/M, D/T  
  
Author's Note - Okay this chapter is depressing, but hopefully the fact that I can't write to save my life should help to tone down some of the drama. One, at the most two, more chapters to go folks, so this is starting to wrap itself up into a nice little pile of puke. Enjoy this next installment as it will be one of the last.  
  
Several Months later...  
  
Mallory was excited for Tanya and the twins that would be born in about a month. Normally, Mallory despised children under the age of 10, but for some odd reason she was looking forward to the new additions to the Pond. She knew that Tanya had been wanting children of her own as she was not a young duck anymore, and Mallory could tell that Tanya was beginning to sense the ticking of her biological clock.  
  
'Maybe this will help Duke to grow his immature ass up' thought Mallory, 'And Tanya can finally be happy, she's living her dreams to the extent that is actually possible.'  
  
Mallory was roused out of her thoughts by a familiar, snow-white hand waving in front of her face.  
  
"Mallory, are you okay? You spaced out on me for a minute there."  
  
Mallory then let her surroundings rush around her. It was late into the night, her bedroom was somewhat chilly from the cool winter weather of Anaheim. Wildwing had snuck into her room that night, making sure that they could spend quality time together as a couple was extremely important to the both of them.  
  
"I'm fine Wing," said Mallory, giving him a quick kiss on the end of his beak, "Just thinking about stuff."  
  
"Care to elaborate?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"You are going to somehow bribe me to get me to tell you, aren't you?"  
  
"You know me too well, Mal."  
  
"So, bribe me, and then I'll tell you."  
  
"You are positively stubborn, did you know that?"  
  
"Of course" said Mallory jokingly, "It's one of my most endearing qualities."  
  
"I know this is kind of random, but let's go for a walk."  
  
"At 12:30 at night? You have got to be kidding me."  
  
"Nope, let's go!"  
  
"Hello!?!" Mallory smacked Wing lightly against the back of the head, "Do you know how dangerous it is to be out in this city in the middle of the night?"  
  
"Well, we aren't alone, we'll carry fully loaded pucklaunchers, and I seriously doubt that most of the people in this city really want to be on our bad side."  
  
"Fine, fine, you win!"  
  
Wildwing grabbed Mallory by the arm and dragged her out of the room, making sure to grab their coats that were conveniently lying on the couch on the way out.  
  
"Wait Wildwing, I forgot something in my room, I'll be right back."  
  
"Alright, fine, but hurry back!"  
  
Mallory ran off to her room to grab their pucklaunchers, Wildwing had mentioned bringing them on their walk, and then caught up in all of the excitement had forgotten them. Mallory knew that there was probably nothing to worry about, but she could not shake her soldier's tendencies. Life in the military had taught her to be cautious, and she knew that she could get herself out of any bad situation she may happen to stumble upon with a fully loaded pucklauncher. Just as she was heading out of her room, Drake One's alarm blared...  
  
Wildwing looked in the general vicinity of the Ready Room.  
  
'A Drake One alert? Oh, these people have got to be shitting me..."  
  
Wildwing sprinted off towards his room to grab his mask, catching up with Tanya on the way.  
  
"Tanya, go grab Duke and check out the Drake One alert, then get everyone to meet up in the Ready Room once you know what the problem is. I need to go get my mask, I'll be right there."  
  
Wildwing entered his room a few short moments later, quick-changing into his battle gear and placing the mask on his face. He quickly decided to com Mallory, just to see where she was.  
  
"Mallory, where are you?"  
  
"I'm still in my room Wing, I've got our pucklaunchers just in case we need them."  
  
"Okay, if this alert is something serious I want you to go unlock the arsenal in the gym. We may need all of the weapons we can get our hands on. Mallory, please, be careful."  
  
Wildwing knew that this may be one of the last chances that he would have to talk to Mallory privately and discreetly, and he wanted to make sure that she knew he genuinely cared about her safety.  
  
"I know Wing, love ya."  
  
"I love you too, babe."  
  
When Wildwing arrived back at the Ready Room, everyone sans Mallory was assembled, looking ragged and completely irritated.  
  
"W-Wildwing, the, uh, teleportation energy, it-it's coming from the main entrance to the Pond.  
  
At that, Mallory entered the room, carrying two bags full of weapons and armor to the main console of Drake One.  
  
"Alright everyone," announced Wildwing, "gear up, we have an intruder in the Pond, and I'm not taking any chances with anyone's safety, Tanya that includes you. Find any kind of armor that could protect yourself or the twins, and move to a safe location, I don't want any arguing."  
  
The ducks were in the middle of grabbing weapons, when suddenly, Seige, Wraith, Chameleon and Dragaunus blasted through the door to the ready room.  
  
"Alright duckies! Prepare to be roasted!" Siege called out, and the beginning of a large firefight ensued.  
  
Nosedive took on Chameleon, battling to keep up with his shape shifting and unable to formulate a solid plan of attack. Mallory tried to go up against Wraith, her agility helped her to quickly dodge the fireballs that he continued to send her way, all the while managing to get in a few good blows to the old Saurians' fragile body. Grin and Wildwing coordinated a body slam into all eight feet of Dragaunus, and managed to temporarily knock him off his balance and onto the floor. Duke was struggling to fight off Siege, and Tanya was trying to manage in a shot with her puck cannon whenever Duke maneuvered enough to give her a clear aim at the rotund, red Saurian. Siege managed to knock Duke out with a single, stunning blow to the back of his head, courtesy of the hard spiked club on the end of his tail.  
  
"Well," said Siege, pinning Tanya against the wall, "what do we have here? A pregnant Mighty Duck? Well, this situation can be easily rectified!"  
  
Tanya screamed out a loud, desperate "NO!", but it had no effect on Siege's cold, bloodthirsty heart. He unleashed a massive, powerful kick to Tanya's protruding abdomen, and then proceeded to kick her once more for security. Duke suddenly opened his eyes, the effects of his minor concussion slowly wearing off. As soon as he saw what Siege had done to his girlfriend he managed to let out a mangled cry and pick himself up off the floor. Duke ran over to Siege, and ran his saber directly through Siege's neck, separating his head from the rest of his grotesque, crimson body. His actions had come too late though, as Tanya laid on the ground, surrounded in a pinkish, watery fluid, bawling for what she knew had just taken place.  
  
"Duke, th-they were moving j-just a second ago, th-they aren't now"  
  
"Don't worry Tawny, things are going to be fine...Shhhh"  
  
All Duke could do was wrap his arms around her and let her cry against him.  
  
The author would like to get her craptastic fight scene over with and move back onto the drama, so let's just say that all of the ducks, sans Tanya and Duke, miraculously managed to beat the living shit out of the rest of the Saurians and smeared them all over the floor.  
  
Mallory tore her eyes away from the bloody beaten Saurians before her; both Tanya and Duke were both mysteriously absent from surveying their damage. She looked around and witnessed the most horrific site she had seen in her entire life. Tanya was huddled next to Duke, bawling her eyes dry, and they were both surrounded in what she knew was embryotic fluid. She quickly turned Wildwing around and pointed him toward the two huddled ducks.  
  
"I'm going to call an ambulance." It was all Mallory could say, and she rushed from the Ready Room into the kitchen, using every ounce of strength she had to keep herself from vomiting and crying all at the same time. She dialed 911 and waited for the operator to finish talking before she spoke, almost quiet enough to be incoherent.  
  
"Hi, I have an emergency that requires an ambulance; could we please have one sent to the Anaheim Pond?"  
  
Mallory just clung to the phone, and waited for help to arrive, knowing full well that this event was going to be the start of a very long and painful disaster.  
  
TBC... 


	9. For the Love of Life

Disclaimer - I don't own 'em, but seriously the people who do aren't going to be lurking around on FF.net.  
  
Author's Note - Okay folks, this is the last real chapter for this. I don't really know anything about Saurian anatomy (who does?!?), so I'm kind of making this shit up as I go along. I'm going to have one little epilogue thing after this, but that's not really a big deal. Enjoy this next installment! *Waves* Oh, and by the way, special thanks to Lady Silver, who's been helping me out with my other fic ideas, you rock Jen! And yes, we are starting the revolution, and we *will* win them over.  
  
For the Love of Life - Chapter Nine  
  
Mallory sat crouched on one of the hard, uncomfortable waiting room chairs inside the ER unit of the Anaheim Regional Hospital. She sat with her legs drawn up against her chest, and her forehead resting on her knees, her arms encircling her legs and blocking her face from view. She lifted her head, surveying her teammates, they all looked weary and exhausted, and they all carried and expression of premature grief on their faces. Wildwing was holding a trembling Nosedive, the younger of the two Flashblade brothers crying openly into the elder's comforting embrace. Wildwing had shed a few tears as well; the tracks they had left behind had dried many hours before though. Occasionally Wildwing would look up from his fixed position on the floor in front of him and steal a quick glance at Mallory, but it was no way in the least worth any substantial amount of comfort. Grin sat in a chair to the right of Mallory, his face was stone cold and emotionless, but all that passed him by knew that he was grieving inside. Mallory rested her down on her knees once again and repeated the chant that was her only salvation from breaking down into tears.  
  
'Soldiers don't cry...soldiers don't cry...soldiers don't cry...'  
  
Several hours later, a very disheveled and morose looking Duke walked drudgingly into the room. All four team members residing in the waiting room looked up at his presence.  
  
"They gave her drugs to induce labor," began Duke, with the rest holding their breath, "the twins were stillborn, a boy and a girl. God damn those Saurians, why did they do this to her, I thought they were dead!"  
  
Duke was choking back tears at his own words, crumbling the surgical mask that he had been forced to wear during the entire process of Tanya's labor. He threw it to the ground and began to sob, slumping against the cinderblock wall and slowly sliding to the ground. Mallory looked up once again, and got up from her seat moving over to Duke to try and offer him, at the very least, a shoulder to cry on. She was never good at comforting those in pain, but for all of the bullshit that she had put him through over the past couple of years, this was the least she could do for him. Duke readily accepted her offer, as soon as she sat next to him he collapsed into her body, sobbing hysterically and shaking as hard as he was crying. Mallory knew that this was affecting him deeply; normally he was reserved and very secretive, now he was openly mourning for world to see, and Mallory became genuinely worried for him. After a few minutes, Duke stood up, forcing his sobbing to stop, tearing himself away from Mallory.  
  
"I gotta go back in there, be strong for Tanya." Duke wiped away his remaining tears, his chest hurting from the unreleased tension and grief that he could not expose.  
  
Duke's figure retreated around the maze of hallways, and everyone watched him leave until he could no longer be seen.  
  
Wildwing looked down at his brother, gently napping in his arms after his long fit of tears and sorrow. There were many questions running through his mind, leaving him restless with curiosity and itching for the answers. After some deliberation and several hours of just uselessly sitting in the hospital waiting room, he decided that it was time to go back to the Pond, he knew that he would find all he needed there. Picking up his now sleeping brother, Wildwing got up and handed off Nosedive's thrashing, unconscious form to Grin.  
  
"Watch over him for me, I'm going back to the Pond."  
  
Grin only nodded silently and reached out his arms to take Nosedive. Wildwing walked over the corner where Mallory still sit, unable to move from the spot where Duke had laid against her, sobbing. Wildwing crouched down to her still form and offered her his hand.  
  
"Come on Mal," he said gently, "I want to go back to the Pond and I want you to come with me." He laid his beak right next to her ear, whispering, "We can be alone there, you can cry, and we can be together."  
  
Mallory perked up ever so slightly at his suggestion. Ever since the Saurians had teleported out and left Tanya in a bleeding mess on the floor all Mallory had wanted was for Wildwing to be there for her, giving her the comfort she so desperately needed. She lightly placed her hand in his, letting him pull her up, and together they walked out from the hospital. What they saw as they exited was appalling. The paparazzi and the media were everywhere, flooding the hospital's main entrance, their flashes and questions going off as Mallory and Wildwing stepped out of the door. They both placed their arms over their eyes to block the blinding light from the countless amount of cameras going off around them. Wildwing was the first to speak up, firing a puck into the air to silence the massive crowd, a trick that he had learned long ago from Mallory.  
  
"We have no comments for any of you, nor will we ever. This business is between our friends and ourselves, the details of our personal lives does not involve the public, or any of you, in any way.  
  
The crowd picked up their questioning within a heartbeat of Wildwing's ending words. Furious, Wildwing grabbed the wrist of a rather enraged Mallory, preventing her from lashing out at anyone while in extraordinary emotional turmoil. He signaled her to just move forward with his hand, and together they barreled through the crowd and shoved people aside until they had reached the parking lot. From there, they ran in one random direction, trying to outrun the media and find their vehicle all at the same time. Finally spotting the Migrator, they hopped in, started up the ignition and drove off. Mallory curled up in her seat, watching the road and random objects near it pass by in a blur, the unshed tears in her eyes clouding her vision further. Wildwing saw Mallory's trance like state and pried one hand off of the steering wheel to lay it on her shoulder. She leaned her head on it and watched Wildwing drive until they arrived at the Pond. More paparazzi blocked the entrance to their home, and all of Mallory's anger exploded all at once.  
  
"Oh, this is just too fucking much!"  
  
In her fit of fury, Mallory grabbed a puck bazooka and exited the Migrator quickly, before Wildwing could slow her down. She came into view of the large crowd of media, and aimed the bazooka directly at the middle of them.  
  
"Alright you little shits, listen up. We have absolutely nothing to say to any of you, now get the fuck away from all of and stay away before I blast all of your asses to kingdom come..."  
  
She was interrupted by Wildwing grabbing her wrist and wrenching the bazooka away from her iron grip.  
  
"Sorry about that folks, we're all just a bit tired, but we really would like you to leave, please. If you don't, we will call the police and have you all fined and removed from the area. It's your choice."  
  
The already silent crowd dispersed and Wildwing, with his grip still on Mallory, dragged them both inside the Pond. Once he had them both in his bedroom, his scolding of her actions began.  
  
"Mallory, what the hell do you think you're doing? You can't just go around threatening people like that, it could be grounds for them all to sue..."  
  
"You just don't get it, do you?" She screamed as silent, fat tears began streaming down her face, "Tanya just lost her fucking kids, Wing, and the damn media are just showing up everywhere trying to create some dramatic, emmy-winning story out of all of our misery!"  
  
Wildwing stepped forward, holding out his arms to her, not only as an apology, but a source of comfort as well. She collapsed into him, finally crying openly, clutching onto Wildwing as if her life depended on it.  
  
Wildwing whispered softly into her hair, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't yell at you, I..."  
  
"No", said Mallory in between sobs, "I shouldn't...have done that...I'm sorry..."  
  
He carried her over to his bed and they both laid there, sobbing and seeking comfort in the love that they carried for each other. An hour later, Wildwing and Mallory laid in the same spot, only now instead of crying they were resting, letting their bodies recuperate from their emotional outbursts, and taking some much needed time to be alone with each other. Wildwing was the first to rise, reaching out for Mallory to come with him.  
  
"Mal, I have a couple of questions about this whole thing that I think I can find the answers to, you want to come and help?" His tone was gentle, and the grasp he had on her was loving.  
  
"Yeah", said Mallory weakly, "I'll come."  
  
He picked her up off the bed, and began to carry her out the door.  
  
"I'm perfectly capable of walking, you know."  
  
"I know, but how often to I get the chance to carry you? You know, the whole 'Knight in shining armor' bit."  
  
"You're always my knight in shining armor."  
  
Wildwing had no other response to her comment than to kiss her deeply, letting his grip on her tighten and his heart burst with love. For this moment, all the tragedy that surrounded Mallory and Wildwing vanished, leaving them surrounded by the deep affection that they shared. The moment languished, as did the kiss, and Wildwing let Mallory rest in his arms while he walked to Tanya's lab. Several moments later, they arrived at their destination, both exhausted, but on a mission to search for answers.  
  
"Mal, you want to help me, all the search is going to require is a scant bit of reading."  
  
Mallory shifted in Wildwing's arms, struggling to stay awake long enough to help him.  
  
"Sure, just put me down and I can..." Mallory's sentence was interrupted by a rather loud yawn, "help you out."  
  
They both stood, looking at Tanya's vast amounts of books, many had been brought from Puckworld, containing some of their last links to their native homeland. Mallory leaned her body against Wildwing, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.  
  
"So what are we looking for, Wing?"  
  
"Saurian anatomy"  
  
"Why the hell........."  
  
"I'll explain later."  
  
"Okay..." Mallory rolled her eyes suspiciously.  
  
Around an hour later, Mallory and Wildwing had scoured the entire collection of books; only one had matched the criteria that Wildwing had been looking for. He and Mallory hunched over it, scanning through the pages until Wildwing had found the section he was looking for.  
  
"Fatalities in Saurians", Wildwing repeated the title at the top of the page.  
  
"Is this what you were looking for?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah..."  
  
Wildwing trailed off as he read through the text, stopping as he saw the exact information he was looking for.  
  
"Mallory, when you finally ran Dragaunus through your knife, back when we first thought we had defeated him, where did you get him?"  
  
"Uh, let me think...Dead center, I should have pierced his heart."  
  
"Oh no..."  
  
"What? What is it Wing?"  
  
"According to this, Mallory, you only got him in the chest cavity. It says here that male Saurians above 7 feet in height develop two hearts in their mid-teens. One moves to the far left of the chest, while the other moves to the far right. Apparently, both are necessary at that height to pump the massive amount of blood needed to run their bodies. It also says here that when approached with a threat of defeat and/or death in battle, Saurians will use their ability of feigning death in order to trick the enemy."  
  
"So we never killed him that first time." Mallory's voice dropped in disappointment.  
  
"His goons just played dead, when we left, they just teleported out of there and dragged Dragaunus back with them."  
  
Both Mallory and Wildwing remained silent for a moment, knowing now that the only reason the Saurians had attacked the Pond again was because of their entire teams' inexcusable lack of knowledge about the enemy they were fighting. The silence was broken by a rather frustrated Mallory, slamming her small, delicate fist into the table with all the power she could muster.  
  
"Damn it! We beat the crap out of them and they always just come right back for more. I'm so sick of this! It was fine back when it was just us six and the worst damage they did was a few flesh wounds. It's different now, they actually killed two of us Wing, they stole the lives of innocent children without any thought to it!"  
  
Mallory's chest was heaving in anger, her breath becoming rapid and her face reddening.  
  
"If you need me I'll be in the gym, I need to punch something."  
  
Wildwing decided not to follow her, giving her some space to herself, but after an hour of not hearing a single word from her, he went to go make sure she was alright. He found Mallory, sitting on the middle of a gym mat, shaking and sobbing. He was scared for her, normally she never cried, death never seemed to have this kind of an effect on her. He sat down in front of her slowly, opening his arms to her, with tears beginning to track down his face as well. She readily accepted his embrace, and they both sat in the middle of the gym, a sobbing, heaping mess of misery and grief. After a while, they both had stopped crying, their energy drained and their minds filled with a strong mix of misery and anger.  
  
"Wing..."  
  
"Mmmmmmm?"  
  
"Promise me, for the love of all the lives that have ever been and ever will be, that we will never ever make the same mistakes we've made in the past with these creeps. If they ever show up again, I want them dead for good."  
  
"I'll make sure that I save Dragaunus's fatal blow for you."  
  
"Thank you, Wing, that means so much to me."  
  
Wildwing bent down, cradling Mallory's face in his hands. He kissed her passionately, tightening his grip on her as if his life was dependant upon her presence.  
  
"I love you, Mallory McMallard, and with all my heart, I promise that I will always be here for you, and I will never, ever stop loving you, not for an instant."  
  
"Wildwing Flashblade, you are the most romantic, sappy drake I have ever met, but I love you anyways. Thank you, for helping me to truly know what living is all about."  
  
They kissed again, and this time, it was not out of comfort, but of pure, untainted love. They broke away and smiled at each other in pure happiness for the first time that day, and knew that somehow, everything would turn out alright, as long as they had each other. 


	10. Epilouge

Disclaimer - I don't have any more witty remarks for this thing, so just don't sue me because I really don't own the Mighty Ducks. If I did, I would rename it "Wildwing and Mallory's Half Hour of Action and Romance, Plus Four Other Ducks"  
  
Author's Note - Well folks, this is the end. It's been real and it's been fun, but it's time for me to move on to other fics. Luckily, this one was almost done when I got my other ideas, so I rode it out, and here's the end. To those of you who liked my stories, regardless of whether or not you reviewed, I thank you. To those who didn't, well tough shit, 'cause my writing is going to be multiplying and staying right where it is, thank you very much.  
  
For the Love of Life - Epilouge  
  
Tanya and Duke named their stillborn twins Josephine and William. They were buried under a large oak tree, next to the marker honoring Canard and his missing in action status. They decided to wait a few more years before attempting to have any more children, wanting to be married and stable from their previous losses. Both attended therapy, but decided that it was not the right treatment option for them, and soon stopped.  
  
Wildwing and Mallory left their relationship a secret to the other ducks, leaving it to them to figure it out. Grin is the only duck to know about them thus far.  
  
Mallory finally got her chance to kill Dragaunus, as the Saurians attacked the Pond only two months after Tanya's pregnancy ended. The ducks managed to finally kill the Saurians once and for all, and stole a partially rebuilt gateway generator. Within a year Tanya had it running.  
  
The ducks managed to create a permanent gateway generator between the two worlds, as having to choose between Puckworld and Earth was just too difficult. They all have permanent homes back in Puckworld, and are free to stay at the Pond whenever they wish, as official ambassadors to Earth.  
  
Canard has not been found as of yet. No one knows whether he is alive or dead.  
  
All the ducks are currently living their lives as they choose, and because this story should probably have a happy ending after all of the death I have put y'all through, they all managed to live happily ever after.  
  
~The End~ 


End file.
